Costco’s Mexico Expansion: New Stores Planned

Mexico City — Earlier this year, Costco Wholesale announced plans to open 30 new stores each year as part of its global expansion strategy. The company is focusing particularly on international markets, with Mexico being one of its most significant markets outside the United States.

Mexico, currently the company’s third-largest market with 41 locations, plays a key role in the strategy to Costco plans to allocate a substantial portion of the new store openings to international markets. The United States remains Costco’s largest market, accounting for 69% of its global store network with 617 locations. Canada follows with 109 stores.

Costco Wholesale is analyzing the opening of new stores in northern Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, according to Mauricio Talayero, the company’s Chief Financial Officer. The self-service warehouse club will continue its growth projects in Mexico, which Talayero highlighted as Costco’s most profitable unit globally.

Speaking at the Retail Day 2025 event organized by Deloitte and GS1 Mexico, Talayero explained that the potential openings are also being evaluated for Irapuato, Reynosa, Matamoros, and locations on the Yucatan Peninsula including Playa del Carmen. This expansion would reinforce the strategic importance of the Mexican market for the company.

Operational Success and Social Media Drive Growth

Talayero detailed that the success of the warehouse club does not stem from advertising, in which they have not invested a single peso, but rather from the boost provided by social media, resellers of their products—such as in the case of their famous Rosca cakes—and their operational efficiency in getting merchandise onto the sales floor so the end consumer chooses to buy it at competitive prices.

“Our success is our supply chain. That is Costco’s success. How quickly I can put a product from a supplier in Asia on the sales floor and make money and make it liquid before paying the suppliers. That is really one of our most important achievements in this business,” he explained.

Employment and Sales Figures in Mexico

In Mexico, each Costco branch employs an average of 300 workers, and approximately 40 percent of its sales are conducted in cash, reflecting the model’s penetration across different consumer profiles. In total, Costco’s workforce in Mexico amounts to 13,000 employees, according to company data. The company opened its first store in the U.S. in 1976 under the name Price Club.

Regions Excluded from Short-Term Expansion

In the short term, Costco plans to open new branches in Mexico City, Durango, and Tampico. However, Talayero ruled out plans to open in Oaxaca City due to constant teacher blockades.

“In Oaxaca it is very difficult because I am a foreign company and if they see when the teachers protest, and everyone goes after that, so I said ‘not for the moment’,” commented Talayero.

Vachris described Costco’s 30-store-per-year target as realistic, reflecting the company’s confidence in its membership-based retail model and its ability to capture market opportunities. The planned expansion is expected to enhance Costco’s presence in both established and emerging markets, strengthening its global footprint.